CHILDRENS AID

A three-year-old boy found living in squalor, in an east Hamilton home filled with garbage, dead animals and feces has been seized by Hamilton's Children Aid Society.

CAS executive director Dominic Verticchio confirmed the boy was taken from the McQuesten East neighbourhood home last Wednesday, after complaints from neighbours.

"It was not pretty," he said, describing a home with a stench so powerful that no one could come within 20 feet of the home without smelling it.

Hamilton police and the Hamilton Burlington SPCA are involved in the investigation. Verticchio said there are mental health issues.

The boy is now in the care of CAS and is said to be doing well. Verticchio said that despite being found covered in feces and flea bites, his health is good.

Neighbours of single-family home on a quiet street near Parkdale Avenue North and Melvin Avenue say they became concerned about a dog in the backyard that appeared to not be fed or given water. Grass was overgrown, garbage was pilled everywhere and the backyard was filled with dog poop.

They said they have complained to CityHousing Hamilton, which owns that house and several others on the street, many times.

One neighbour, Barbara, who did not provide her last name, said she hadn't seen the boy for several months and wasn't even sure if he still lived there. A woman and her then pregnant adult daughter moved into the home a little over three years ago, she said.

She and neighbour Anne, who also declined giving her last name, said they saw several dogs and cats seized from inside the home and SPCA workers were also seen carrying out full garbage bags.